2009 World Champion Jenson Button will stay at McLaren for 2016, the British team said in an official statement posted to its social media today.

His 16th straight year in Formula One: Jenson Button will race with McLaren next season

2009 World Champion Jenson Button will stay at McLaren for 2016, the British team said in an official statement posted to its social media today.

“Jenson and I have been discussing his plans in private for the past few weeks, and the fact that our talks have led to today’s announcement is very pleasing to both of us and will delight and motivate all at McLaren-Honda,” McLaren CEO Ron Dennis said in an official statement.

Button is currently the most experienced driver on the grid, making his Formula One debut in 2000 with Williams. His most major successes came with Brawn GP, with whom Button won the World Championship.

The Briton has been with McLaren since 2010, when the team was on Mercedes power units and known as McLaren-Mercedes. He partnered compatriot Lewis Hamilton till 2012, following which Hamilton left for team Mercedes. He finished 2011 as runner-up behind Sebastian Vettel, who was then with Red Bull.

Earlier this year, Button’s future in Formula One had been the subejct of intense speculation, with the driver himself acknowledging it was “no secret" that he “was at one point in two minds about my future,”

With this renewal, Button is set to become only the third driver in Formula One history to have raced in 300 Grands Prix – he is currently at 282, as of the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix. Only two drivers have achieved this feat so far – Michael Schumacher and his one-time teammate at Scuderia Ferrari, Rubens Barichello.